LGBTQ Policy

Unclear: Non-Affirming

The score for church websites that do notclearly communicate non-affirming LGBTQ+ policies.

Unclear websites locate policies in peripheral sections of the website (e.g. sermons) OR are located in a denomination's website and are not directly linked from church website's primary pages.

Non-Affirming policies place restrictions on individuals based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity (e.g. people who identify as Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex or Queer). A church may welcome LGBTQ+ people, but if it will not ordain, hire or marry LGBTQ+ people, their policy is non-affirming. If a church has non-egalitarian policy, that will be counted as non-affirming since it discriminates based on gender identity.

Web Links

The church's policy is not clearly disclosed on its website, but in a difficult-to-find 2015 discussion series called Four Letters on Gender and Sexuality. In the Second Letter: "I Speak of Christ and the Church," the pastor writes, "Throughout the Bible, marriage between a man and a women and the sexual union within that marriage are a unique, powerful positive sign of the relationship between God and humanity. Moreover, other expressions of sexual union or marriage beyond this are not a part of God’s original intent for humanity."